Brazil moved back into the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Finals qualification zone after defeating France in straight sets, while Japan remained unbeaten and Poland and the United States recorded victories on the opening day of Week 3.
Brazil secured a 25-23, 25-23, 25-19 win over France in Chicago behind a 13-point performance from Darlan Souza, who also fired four aces. Adriano Cavalcante chipped in with 11 points as Brazil improved to a 6-3 record and climbed into the provisional top eight. France slipped to 4-5 after another setback.
Defending champions Poland stayed among the tournament leaders with a dominant 3-0 victory over Bulgaria. Bartlomiej Boladz led the scoring with 13 points, while Bartlomiej Lemanski added 11 points, including five aces and four blocks, as Poland improved to 7-2.
The United States completed a successful day in Chicago with a 25-19, 25-13, 25-20 sweep of China. Cooper Robinson and Ethan Champlin shared team-high honors with 14 points apiece to keep the Americans level on 7-2.
In Osaka, Japan continued remarkable unbeaten campaign by edging world champions Italy 3-2 in front of its home fans. Ran Takahashi scored a match-high 26 points and Yuji Nishida added 20 as Japan improved to 9-0.
In other matches, Argentina rallied from two sets down to defeat Canada in five sets, Cuba earned first victory of the tournament by sweeping Belgium, Turkiye strengthened its Finals ambitions with a straight-sets win over Serbia, Slovenia defeated Germany in four sets, and Ukraine overcame Iran to stay in contention for a Finals berth.
Results
- Brazil def. France 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-19)
- Poland def. Bulgaria 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-17)
- United States def. China 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-20)
- Japan def. Italy 3-2 (24-26, 25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 15-12)
- Argentina def. Canada 3-2 (24-26, 22-25, 25-23, 25-13, 19-17)
- Cuba def. Belgium 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-20)
- Turkiye def. Serbia 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-18)
- Slovenia def. Germany 3-1 (25-17, 25-17, 23-25, 28-26)
- Ukraine def. Iran 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 29-31, 25-19)